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22 February 2019

Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.

8.0 |
The 405

Aubrey has reclaimed his position delivering the ardently despondent music he initially built his reputation on, through patented melancholy, petty pretentiousness and newly adopted riddims
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8.0 |
The Observer

8.0 |
The Guardian

The rapper’s latest album offers a lengthy inventory of miseries, cleverly offset by a sly sense of humour and eclectic sound. It is compelling evidence that this is the defining pop artist of the moment
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8.086484

8.0 |
Time Out

Drake doesn’t quite reach new heights, but he doesn’t fall down either. He is still undeniably, immovably here
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8.086489

8.0 |
Exclaim

It's a slow album, but through multiple listens, we're treated to the same complexities, but personal and musical, that have made him such a fascinating figure throughout the past decade
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8.0 |
The Music

8.0 |
NME

Given that its 20 tracks generally tackle the same theme ‘Views’ should be a slog. But remarkably, his signature brand of downbeat introspection remains gripping
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8.087318

8.0 |
Q

Drake has earned the right to work on a larger scale - and hip-hop is all the richer for it. Print edition only

8.088181

8.0 |
Mojo

Its 81 minutes continually rake the same ground as he mithers over his legacy. Print edition only

7.586428

7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound

Given all the resources he has, the album may have been too big to fail, but he’s still maintained enough of his unique talent that it’s unlikely anyone could have done it better
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7.286491

7.2 |
AU Review

Views is more on the level of Thank Me Later in terms of quality, and that’s a bit disappointing for someone who has come so far
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7.086468

7.0 |
Beardfood

The beats are crisp, as always, and there are some quality pop moments
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7.086433

7.0 |
Rolling Stone

An occasionally brilliant album that feels like a missed opportunity
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7.086426

7.0 |
Slant Magazine

Views is a truly glacial, intensely morose album, one that confronts the same basic concerns as previous efforts, while further amplifying their significance
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7.086427

7.0 |
Spin

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who listen for lyrics, and those who listen for beats. If you belong to the latter group, then Views will be one of the best albums released this year
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7.086946

7.0 |
Gig Soup

‘Views’ was built up to be the defying moment in a rap career that has seen many highs and very few lows, even containing some of the year’s biggest songs still didn’t allow the album to reach its peak
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6.886430

6.8 |
Pitchfork

Feels claustrophobic and too long and weirdly monotone, but the occasional tweaks in sound lead to a few great moments
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6.786434

6.7 |
A.V. Club

Views is the work of an inconsistent talent desperately in need of a new muse
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6.086478

6.0 |
Clash

The production throughout is excellent as usual, particularly so in the slick ‘90s drums and synths provided by Kanye and Noah Shebib on ‘Feel No Ways’
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6.086451

6.0 |
DIY

A showcase of Drake as so much more than just a dancefloor filling meme machine
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6.086558

6.0 |
Drowned In Sound

For the first time in his illustrious career, his heart doesn’t seem to be in it
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6.086588

6.0 |
music OMH

There are enough moments of glory and splendour here to validate Drake’s position at the head of the hip-hop table, but you wonder whether he can stay there much longer without doing something drastically different
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5.886544

5.8 |
Pretty Much Amazing

Views is both overlong and underwhelming. But there’s a glimmer of something more poignant beneath its bloated surface
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5.586609

5.5 |
Spectrum Culture

Drake is more admirable if he scraps the idea of winter as R&B and summer as trap
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5.086778

5.0 |
All Music

Eventually, people will get tired of the same old song if it's sung too often. On Views, Drake is starting to sound a little weary of it himself
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5.086480

5.0 |
Crack

Where his other works have triumphed as crisp expressions of atmospheres and timeframes, Views finds Drake lost in a kind of hinterland
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5.086436

5.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes

VIEWS is no masterpiece, but it does briefly scale some pretty dizzying heights, like on the soulful “Views,” which showcases some of his most fluid and succinct rapping in recent memory
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